For 60 minutes, Seattle Sounders FC developmental player Kevin Forrest did little to show he was an MLS-caliber player. He failed to complete a handful of passes -- those he did connect were either lateral or back passes. His unforced turnover led to a Colorado scoring opportunity.
Noticeably nervous for most of the game, the local favorite was about to be substituted when he scored the only goal in Seattle's U.S. Open Cup play-in game victory against Colorado.
Darting in from his right midfield position, Forrest anticipated a flick from Roger Levesque. When it came, the former college striker's instincts took over -- he needed to only lean over and nod the ball into the back of the net.
He credits Seattle coach Sigi Schmid's tutelage in helping him see the opportunity.
"It was just anticipation," Forrest said. "Best case scenario -- (Levesque) flicks it and I have a chance. Worst case -- it doesn't but you don't lose anything by making the run.
"Sigi always talks about anticipation in the box and it just paid off. I ran in. The other guy was flat-footed and slammed the header in."
Forrest's goal came against the team that drafted him, the Colorado Rapids. Originally drafted in the MLS Supplemental Draft, injuries had prevented Forrest from gaining a permanent place on the roster in 2008, his first year as a professional.
A star at the University of Washington, Forrest earned Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year honors before deciding to return to Seattle for his senior season, where a string of injuries almost derailed his professional career. The highly touted striker lost most of the 2007 season at the University of Washington to a stress fracture to his navicular bone. Eager to return in time for the MLS combine, another stress fracture sidelined him.
Nevertheless, Colorado took a chance on the injured player, taking him in the MLS Supplemental Draft. But the injuries didn't end there. Not long after, he suffered a sports hernia. He finally got healthy by midseason, when he was loaned to the USL Seattle Sounders. He played a handful of games there, mostly as a reserve, before heading back to Colorado this spring.
By this time, the coaching regime in Commerce City had changed. New Colorado coach Gary Smith couldn't find a place for Forrest on the roster, waiving him this spring. Without a team, Forrest returned to his family's home in Edmonds and started training with Sounders FC.
Unlike Colorado, who only viewed him in his preferred position of striker, Sounders FC tried him out at outside midfielder. Steve Zakuani, another college striker, has had luck in the transition, but Forrest admitted he is still not as comfortable out wide. But he must have showed enough in the position to impress Schmid.
After a trial period of a few weeks, he earned a developmental roster spot -- to the delight of his mother.
"That was the best thing that could have happened for him. He loves it here," said Theresa Forrest. "The team is great, the training facility is close to home, and all his friends and family are here."
Forrest comes from a soccer background -- his father Wade was a reserve for the NASL Seattle Sounders. His mother took in the game with several young people wearing Forrest's No. 19 jersey -- a testament to the player's popularity in the Seattle area.
"It's fun. People know who I am around here," Forrest said. "It's just friends and family -- a big network."
For a player in Forrest's position, fighting to gain a foothold in professional soccer, the goal is especially sweet. And he admitted it made up for his less-than-stellar first half.
"To be honest, I didn't have that great of a game," Forrest said. "Sigi always tells me it's just thinking. It's thinking ahead; thinking at a faster pace. And that's what I'm working on."
Andrew Winner is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
